Rainbow Family of aging hippies, teen wanderers chills out at annual Ocala National Forest encampment

(Lola Gomez, Orlando Sentinel )

February 16, 2013|By Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel

OCALA NATIONAL FOREST — Bongo drums and flutes echo through the pine trees to entertain the 200 people congregating in the hammock.

Two women shake in their belly-dance coin belts, bikini tops and flowing skirts. Dozens of people sit against the tree trunks, displaying on blankets their used books, crystals, compasses and tattered T-shirts.

They are the Rainbow Family of the Living Light, an assortment of aging hippies, teen wanderers and free spirits who have camped at the federal forest annually for more than 30 years to create their own haven for peace, love and harmony. From 1,000 to 5,000 people may show up at this year's gathering, which lasts for a month and peaks in mid-February.

"People think we're just here being drunk drug addicts, but that's not what it's about," said one man who wore a rainbow-colored crocheted beret over his ginger-colored Afro. "People are just hanging out, interacting with each other, enjoying each other and not putting up false masks. We don't have to wear false masks here, like in the real world."

But the real world does patrol to limit drug use, environmental damage and poor sanitation.

That's the job of the U.S. Forest Service. Rangers make the rounds of the campground with backup from federal law enforcement and local deputies. Since the first national gathering, the 1972 Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes in Colorado, Rainbows have congregated at more than a dozen national forests.

"We have to take care of garbage and food control and keep them within the permitted area and out of environmentally sensitive areas," said Mike Herrin, a district ranger in the Ocala forest. "We have to talk to them about not cutting green trees and being mindful of the black bears and wildlife."

Rainbow Gatherings aren't all butterflies and daisies. Herrin said there are "violence problems, fighting and trouble. The EMTs are out here quite often."

Through the years, Lake and Marion deputies have made arrests for retail thefts, assaults and marijuana possession. Local business people have often complained about loitering, break-ins and misuse of their business bathrooms. In 1998, the Rainbows sought redress with a federal judge to assert their freedoms, a year after law enforcement set up roadblocks around the Ocala camp and made 80 arrests, mostly on misdemeanor drug charges. The roadblocks ended.

For at least 10 years, the gathering has gotten a Forest Service permit, allowing Rainbows a designated site within the 383,000-acre forest. Herrin and his team have to balance the impact on the forest with the Rainbows' right to be there.

"We get a level of cooperation that is good for us," he said.

There's still tension, though. As park rangers hike the trails, campers will yell a warning to those who want to hide and disperse into the forest.

For their monthlong stay within the permitted lands, "Rainbowland" is set up as they like it. Handwritten signs point toward communal kitchens, such as the Jesus Kitchen menu announcing pad Thai, Thailand's national dish, on Tuesday. Families that make the annual pilgrimage, such as a mother and son who identify themselves as Heather and "Pancake" from Wisconsin, make their own woodland shelters.

One man hopes to barter tie-dyed scarves for toilet paper. Another man gives readings from his "animal spirit" cards, while someone else blows a didgeridoo, explaining that it helps open his chakras.

The point of the Rainbow gathering is not to judge, but just to be, enjoy the time and help one another, explained "Crash Hempman," the moniker of a 40-something who makes hemp bracelets and plays guitar for a living. His claim to fame is a 2008 New York Times article recounting when Mexican authorities deported him from Tijuana.

"It's community. What you have and what you can provide is what matters," said Crash, who has been traveling the nation for Rainbow gatherings since 1996. "I love what I'm doing. We live in the moment."